Are you "woke" to new buzzwords? Or are you low key when it comes to 2017 slang? Check our "savage" guide and find out if you are "for real"

Yo, fam, how's it hanging?

If you have no idea what that sentence actually means (‘hi mate, how are you?’), then brace yourself for the newest influx of words that all the cool kids will be using on their Instagram comments in 2017.

Slang has always been around and the past few decades have produced words we’re all now comfortingly familiar with (remember terms like ‘rad’, ‘411’, or ‘righteous’, from the 80s, for example?)

But language evolves as time goes on, and every year a new batch of words and phrases appear which have sprung from a mix of origins, such as youth culture, and in particular, social media.

2017 is no different, and leading translation service LanguageLine has carried out research to find out what the words on the street are going to be this year.

So, if you are a slightly behind-the-times millennial who is desperate to catch up with the cool crew, or a parent wanting to figure out what your teenage kids are saying, there’s our handy guide detailing the top 10 buzzwords coming to a Nandos, or Instagram account, near you soon…

Ship: An abbreviation of the word "relationship." The word describes fans', or stans' (a hybrid of ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’), approval of fictional or desired romances.

How to use it: ““They’re so cute together, I totally ship them.”

FR (for real): This one is nice and simple! Basically it’s a way to agree with what someone has just said.

How to use it: “I am loving all the new box sets on Netflix right now.” ‘FR”.

Low Key: Low key can be used in place of the formerly popular phrase "down low," meaning something you don’t want everyone to know about.

How to use it: "I low key tripped walking into Waitrose today."

Or “I am low key addicted to Honey G.”

High Key: This is the opposite of low key. When something is high key, it is the straight-up truth and there is no denying it. Basically, you love it!

How to use it: "High key love Ed Balls on SCD."

Aesthetic: The new "vibe." Vibe has a lovely, groovy 70s feel, but it’s been sharply updated for today’s visual world, where everything is about appearance.

How to use it: “I’m obsessed with Kim K’s new Insta aesthetic!”

Savage: It means vicious, or wounding, in an exaggerated way.

How to use it: “The babysitter cancelled on us at last minute, savage.”

“The shots we did last night were savage!”

Woke: This is one of the biggest buzzwords going round, and was even chosen by Oxford Dictionaries as one of the words of 2016. Essentially, the more ‘woke’ someone is, the more they understand about a topic or a person. It is most often used to describe a man who is also a feminist (as most men should be).

How to use it: ““Love hearing Daniel Radcliffe praise the HeForShe campaign, he is so woke!”

Live: When something is so good, you can’t wait for it. Living for something, but in a cooler way!

How to use it: " “I live for those memes”, or “I’m living for that gig on Saturday.”

Calm: The new “sweet”. It means it’s fine or cool, don’t worry about it.

How to use it: “Shall we split the bill?”

“No, it’s calm.”

Extra: When someone or something isn’t necessary. A bit like ‘random’.

How to use it: “I left the club early last night, it was full of extras!”

Vanessa Lofts, Translation Sales Manager at LanguageLine commented: “It’s always exciting to see how language changes and develops, and it usually starts with young people. Now you’ve got no excuse not to understand them – and even join in! For real.’